Chapter 1

Apollo 11 Stones

Apollo 11 Stones

Namibia, Africa; Paleolithic; Charcoal + Stone; 25,500s-25,3000 BCE; Function: ritual, observation, decoration; found on the same day Apollo 11 landed; Discovered by W.E. Wendt; Depiction of unknown animal; Art Mobilier

Great Hall of the Bulls

Lascaux, France; Paleolithic; Rock painting(bulls covering the ceiling and walls of a cave); Function: ritual(praying for a good hunt), observation, decoration; 15,000-13,000 BCE; Composite perspective(art is starting to get complicated);

Camelid Sacrum

Central Mexico; Paleolithic; Pelvis bone(from a Camelot); 14000-7,000 BCE.; Piece was found from a dug-up well(stratigraphic testing was not conducted); When found, it was immediately taken from the area

Running Horned Woman

Algeria; Neolithic; Cave painting; 6,000-4,000 BCE.; Function: Religious imagery, ritual; Found tucked into a cave -- potentially an area with more care given to it; UNESCO world heritage site; Found with thousands of other paintings; Discovered by Lt. Brenans and Henri Lhote

Bushel with Ibex Motifs

Susa, Iran(gravesite); Neolithic; Painted terracotta; 4,200-3,500 BCE; Funerary; Depiction of animals is usually done in respect to nature, could be used to wish the departed a good afterlife

Anthropomorphic Stele

Arabian Peninsula; Neolithic; Sandstone; Fourth Millennium BCE; Function: a stele depicting a warrior; Found with material not native to Saudi Arabia(evidence of trading/a nomadic lifestyle); Funerary/Honorary; Comparisons: Apollo 11 Stones, Running Horned Woman

Jade Cong

Liangzhu, China; Neolithic; Carved jade; 3,300-2,000 BCE; May represent heavens/earth, and have beloved deities/emperors carved on the sides; Found with coins at a gravesite; Jade is incredibly hard to carve + lasts long(made to preserve memory?); Comparisons: Apollo 11 Stones

Stonehenge

Wiltshire, U.K; Neolithic; Combo of two types of sandstone(Sarsen and Blue); 2,500-1,600 BCE; Function: Religious-astronomical site(stones align with longest + shortest days of the year), ritual/ceremonial, burial(no bodies were found); Discovered by John Aubrey; Phases of Creation: 56 Aubrey holes are dug + blue stones are added, wooden posts in place of Sarsen stones(planning, Sarsen stones; Dug ditches found 2 miles away(may have been for the builders)(Left over broken pots, tools, animal bones)

Ambum Stone

Enga Province, Papua New Guinea; Pre-Classic; Ego People; Greywacke(durable stone); 1,500 BCE; Function: honorary(stone held the soul of an animal), spiritual?; Echidnas were valued for their meat; could be a man with the head of an echidna?; Comparisons: Jade Cong

Tlatilco Figurine

site of Tlatilco, Central Mexico; Pre-Classic; Ceramic; 1,200-900 BCE; Function: observational, mythical; other pieces(animals, plants, women) were found with this(made from clay/terracotta); Comparisons: Apollo 11 Sontes, Jade Cong, Ambum Stone

Terracotta Fragment

Solomon Islands; Pre-Classic; Lapita People; Terracotta; 1,000 BCE; Decoration; Stylized depiction of a person(could have been important to fishing/sea warrior?); Found with a number of other incised terracotta; Oldest human face found in Oceanic art; Comparisons: Apollo 11 Stones, Bushel with Ibex Motifs, Tlatico Figurine

Art Mobilier

A prehistoric, movable piece of art

Composite Perspective

A pose that combines 2 or more viewpoints in one representation

Funerary

Relating to a funeral

Stylized

Most details have been taken away, the basis for the form itself is very geometric

Band

The continuous line of detail that goes around an object

Stele

An upright slab commemorating a person or event

Exogenus

Material that is foreign to the land

Post-Lintel Construction

Two horizonal posts with one vertical post stacked on them(name specifically for construction)

Mortise + Tenon

When creating a trilithon, the posts have curves in them so the lintel will not fall

Trilithon

One grouping of two posts + one lintel

Megalith

One giant rock

Paleolithic

The early phase of the Stone Age

Neolithic

The latter part of the Stone Age(New Stone Age)

Profile

An outline of something(typically the face), as seen from one side

Maize

Corn

Echidna

Spiny anteaters

Bi

Ancient Chinese coins

Ibex

Wild Goat

Sacrum

Pelvic bone

Findspot

The place where an archaeological object has been found

In the round

Standing free(all sides shown)

Silhouette

The dark shape/outline of something against a lighter background

Anthropomorphic

Ascribing human characteristics to nonhuman things